Indians investing in US thronged to EV, blockchain stocks in 2020-21

NEW DELHI: Most Indians investing abroad showed a clear preference for technology stocks, followed by electric vehicle makers and blockchain players during the Covid year gone by, said a report released by Winvesta, a broker that facilitates investing in overseas stocks. Tesla, Nio, Riot Blockchain, Gamestop and Xiaopeng Motors were the most traded stocks in terms of volume on its platform, Winvesta said.

The rising popularity of electric vehicles and blockchain sectors showed Indians are not shying away from investing in emerging technologies, in which there is negligible representation in the country.

Passive investing also gained traction with about 25 per cent of investors choosing ETFs. The majority of investors have invested in QQQ (Nasdaq 100) ETF, followed by VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market Index), ARKG (ARK Genomic Revolution), SPY (S&P500), and ARKK (ARK Innovation). Geographical ETFs and ADRs accounted for about 10 per cent of their investments.

Although for many Indian investors, US investing is synonymous with the popular FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google) stocks, Winvesta said they today make up only 17 per cent of total exposure of Indian investors. The ratio has been trending downward since the beginning of last year, as investors shifted to other high growth stocks like Tesla and Nio. However, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft continue to be among the top 10 most popular stocks on the platform.

The company, which started operation coinciding with the first Covid lockdown, said its investor base is mostly (60 per cent) millennials in the 25-40 years age bracket. The majority of these investors are male (94 per cent).

Investors from Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai make up almost 25 per cent of its client base, followed by those from Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad. Only 45 per cent of Winvesta’s client base is from metropolitan cities, which shows Tier-II cities are not behind in investing beyond India’s borders. .

“We have also seen growing interest from younger investors, who are prolific consumers of many overseas brands and are beginning their investment journey with modest investments,” said Prateek Jain, Co-founder, Winvesta. “Lately, Indian investors seem to be getting bullish on passive investing and looking to invest in US ETFs, which can give them exposure to innovative themes and markets beyond the USA.”

Vested Finance, another broker that facilitates investing in the US market, said it has seen increased interest among millennials – especially from among resident Indians and NRIs — in the technology sector, select ETFs and specially curated stocks portfolio called ‘vests’ which it claims have given good returns.